A North Wales council has been issued with a High Court Writ to recover care fee arrears owed to a specialist dementia home.
Meddyg Care Dementia Homes took action against Gwynedd Council after they said it ignored a judgement made by Northampton Small Claims Court in April ordering it to repay £44,529.46 in fee arrears accrued since March 2021 at its 40-bed Criccieth home.
They said the order gives High Court Enforcement Officers the power to seize assets at Gwynedd Council to sell and repay the debts owed - plus costs and interest - if the council does not comply and pay the outstanding bill.
Meddyg Care, which also owns a 44-bed home in Porthmadog, said it was left with no choice but to launch legal proceedings in February this year after Gwynedd Council’s fees fell well short of the sum needed to provide adequate care for its clients and remunerate staff – forcing it to operate at a loss.
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Social care champions Care Forum Wales (CFW) said the case was the first of its kind in Wales and claimed the council wasn’t meeting its responsibilities to frail and vulnerable people in communities.
Gwynedd council said they “strongly dispute” any claim that the council’s responsibility to the frail and vulnerable people of Gwynedd is in any way compromised.
Kevin Edwards, managing director of Meddyg Care, said Gwynedd’s fees covered just 28 hours of personal care for its clients per week – when most required ‘in excess’ of 44 hours.
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The 43-year-old, from Porthmadog, said he had been forced to invest £700,000 of personal funds last year to sustain the home.
“We never thought it would go this far but enough was enough. Effectively, all they are doing is depriving vulnerable people within our community of the necessary funds to pay for their care,” he said. “One of Care Inspectorate Wales’ regulations is that you have to run a business which is financially sound. We were going to operate at a loss if we accepted their fee - it was significantly lower than what we needed.
“We had six months of correspondence between ourselves and the council and we tried to engage and demonstrate our costs. They refused to accept it and it left us with no choice to launch legal proceedings in the small claims court.
“I feel very sad we’ve had to go down this route to get the appropriate fee but sadly it’s not an exceptional case. The general public need to know how they are abusing these providers.”
Mr Edwards said Gwynedd Council had offered Meddyg Care a fee of £683.90 per client per week which her said fell far short of what was needed to cover their true costs.
He wants a vote of no confidence in the health and social care department of Gwynedd Council.
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “Gwynedd’s residential and nursing fees are set in collaboration with other local authorities across north Wales, using the latest information from providers amongst other factors. The fees paid are consistent across providers, and based on evidence of the real cost of care, whilst providing value for public money.
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“As all providers and Care Forum Wales are aware, Gwynedd residential and nursing fees for 2022/23 have been set in-line with the regional work. However, the Council has committed to further work during the first few months of this financial year (2022-23), in order to evaluate the affordability and sustainability of paying a higher fee to providers.
“As a Council, we strongly dispute any claim that the council’s responsibility to the frail and vulnerable people of Gwynedd is in any way compromised.”